Others: Travel, Future Group, Blue Foods, Copper Chimney, Cream Centre, India

Future Group gets going with Blue Foods buyout

Future Group and its private equity arm Indivision India Partners have picked up a controlling 50% plus equity stake in the multi-cuisine lifestyle restaurants chain, Blue Foods through a structured transaction deal. The new promoters have merged Pan Foods Solutions — a JV between Pantaloon Retail and Blue Foods — with Blue Foods. The deal was concluded a week ago, sources told ET.

Indivision is an arm of Future Capital Holdings (FCH). Blue Foods's flagship brands include Copper Chimney, Bombay Blue, Noodle Bar, Gelato Italiano, Spaghetti Kitchen, Cream Centre and a franchisee agreement with the California-based coffee chain, Coffee Beans & Tea Leaf.

When contacted, Kishore Biyani, CEO of Future Group, said: “We cannot disclose the financial details of the deal. This deal essentially means that we are looking at a larger play in the casual dining and food service business.” Sunil Kapur, managing director of Blue Foods, also holds a small stake in the business.

Mr Kapur is believed to have bought out the stakes of the other three partners in the business before signing the deal with Future Group and Indivision. He will continue to be on the board and the new promoters will infuse funds to scale up the restaurants across various Future Group and external formats.

Blue Foods owns all the brands in the company except Copper Chimney and Cream Centre, which is licensed to the company by the promoters of the brands. Future Group’s presence in real estate and its access to a wide consumer base is expected to help Blue Foods scale up the business.

The company operates on a hub and spoke model (with a centralised kitchen in every city that sources and stocks all raw materials required for its various restaurants).

Oct 30, 2008
Source: Economic Times
URL: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-3653019,prtpage-1.cms